3 John 1:11

Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Beloved	Ἀγαπητέ, Agapēte	G27	beloved · adjective — vocative singular masculine
follow	μιμοῦ mimou	G3401	to imitate · verb — present middle or passive deponent imperative, 2nd person singular
not	μὴ mē	G3361	(adverb) not · particle — negative
is	τὸ to	G3588	the (sometimes to be supplied · article — accusative singular neuter
evil	κακὸν kakon	G2556	worthless (intrinsically · adjective — accusative singular neuter
but	ἀλλὰ alla	G235	properly · conjunction
is	τὸ to	G3588	the (sometimes to be supplied · article — accusative singular neuter
good	ἀγαθόν. agathon	G18	"good" (in any sense · adjective — accusative singular neuter
He	ὁ ho	G3588	the (sometimes to be supplied · article — nominative singular masculine
good	ἀγαθοποιῶν agathopoiōn	G15	to be a well-doer (as a favor or a duty) · verb — present active participle, nominative singular masculine
is	ἐστί estí	G2076	he (she or it) is
of	ἐκ ek	G1537	literal or figurative · preposition
God	θεοῦ theou	G2316	figuratively · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title
but	δέ dé	G1161	but
he	τοῦ tou	G3588	the (sometimes to be supplied · article — genitive singular masculine
evil	κακοποιῶν kakopoiōn	G2554	to be a bad-doer · verb — present active participle, nominative singular masculine
hath	ἑώρακεν he'ōraken	G3708	by extension · verb — perfect active indicative, 3rd person singular
not	οὐχ ouch	G3756	the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverb · particle — negative
seen	ὁράω horáō	G3708	by extension
God	θεόν. theon	G2316	figuratively · noun — accusative singular masculine, a title

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Isaiah 1:16-17 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
Psalms 37:27 Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.
Ephesians 5:1 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
1 Peter 3:11 Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.
John 3:20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
1 Peter 3:13 And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?
Psalms 34:14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
1 John 3:6-9 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 3 John 1:9-11

I. Diotrephes, unlike Gaius, loved preeminence and refused apostolic authority, spreading malicious words. He did not accept John’s letter and discouraged others from showing hospitality, casting them out of the church. John warns that he will address this behavior when he visits. II. John cautions against following Diotrephes’ evil example and encourages believers to imitate what is good, for those who do good are of God, while those who do evil have not seen God.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 3 John 1:11

follow not that which is evil--as manifested in Diotrephes (Jo3 1:9-10). but . . . good--as manifested in Demetrius (Jo3 1:12). is of God--is born of God, who is good. hath not seen God--spiritually, not literally.

Adam Clarke on 3 John 1:11

Follow not that which is evil - Μμ μιμου το κακον· Do not imitate that wicked man, i.e., the conduct of Diotrephes; be merciful, loving, and kind. For whatever profession any man may make, it will ever appear that he who doeth good is of God - he alone is the person who uses rightly the grace received from God, and he alone shall enjoy the Divine approbation; While he that doeth evil - He who is unfeeling, unmerciful, unkind, hath not seen God - has no proper knowledge of that God whose Name is mercy, and whose Nature is love.

John Gill on 3 John 1:11

Beloved, follow not that which is evil,.... Follow not evil in general, it being hateful to God, contrary to his nature and will, and bad in itself, as well as pernicious in its consequences; and particularly follow not, or do not imitate the particular evil or evils in Diotrephes; as his pride, ambition, love of preeminence, and tyrannical government in the church, and especially his hard heartedness, cruelty, and inhospitality to the poor saints; and so the Arabic version reads, "do not imitate him in evil"; the examples of persons in office and authority have great influence, especially in cases of charity, when men can be excused thereby, and save their money, or be freed from an expense…

Read the whole note in the console

The Church Fathers

Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He reveals that he desires him to imitate what is good by adding:
— Bede, Commentary on the Catholic Epistles

Light has nothing in common with darkness, and there is no agreement between Christ and Belial. The person who does good has Christ, the true light, and not darkness or Belial. But the person who does evil is from Belial and darkness and has not seen God or had any knowledge of him.
— Didymus the Blind, CATENA

And if I glance around at their examples-(examples) of some David heaping up marriages for himself even through sanguinary means, of some Solomon rich in wives as well as in other riches-you are bidden to "follow the better things; " and you have withal Joseph but once wedded, and on this score I venture to say better than his father; you have Moses, the intimate eye-witness of God; you have Aaron the chief priest.
— Tertullian, On Monogamy

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 3 John 1:9-11

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 3 John 1:11

Adam Clarke on 3 John 1:11

John Gill on 3 John 1:11

The Church Fathers

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 3 John 1:9-11

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 3 John 1:11

Adam Clarke on 3 John 1:11

John Gill on 3 John 1:11

The Church Fathers

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 3 John 1:11